WATERSTONES SNAPS UP FOYLES TO FIGHT OFF AMAZON

WATERSTONES has bought fellow bookseller Foyles in a bid to fight back against the ‘siren call’ of Amazon.

The deal will see the famous British business pass out of the control of the Foyle family for the first time in its 115-year history.

Like Waterstones’ other companies, Hatchards and Hodges Figgis, it will be run under its own brand. James Daunt, Waterstones’ boss, said the agreement had been reached after talks with Christopher Foyle who said: ‘My family and I are delighted that Foyles is entering a new chapter, one which secures the brand’s future and protects its personality.’

Daunt said: ‘We will be better positioned to protect and champion the pleasures of real bookshops in the face of (online giant) Amazon’s siren call.’